Buckaroo Banzai
Well-Known Forum User
Right, I've had this planned all year, my LONG WAY ROUND tour, it is the biggy for this year..! A road trip of a lifetime..! Actually all I'm doing is driving the Car from Grenoble back to the U.K. as its time to take it home.
Except I'm gonna do it the "LONG WAY ROUND"....!
12 countries, 9 Days, 6 currencies, 2 time zones, 1 Idiot..!
With some top driving roads, and some fairly bad roads too.
I estimate the route at 4600kms or just over 3000 miles but will probably be more. Don't ask what the estimated petrol bill is going to be as it brings tears to my eyes...! the road tolls and Vignettes will not be cheap either.
Now I know you guys will be disapointed I'm not doing it in a Zed of some description, but trust me if I still had my Zed I would be doing this run in it. I suspect I will return to the Nissan fold at some point in the future but I think it would have to be with a GTR rather than a zed.
So the Focal point of the route is the Transfargarasan mountain highway in Romania, It was declared by the Top Gear team as the best driving road in the world..! Clarkson owned up to the fact that he got it wrong when he announced that the Stelvio Pass in Italy was the best driving road in the world (and trust me, it ain't the best by far) and declared the Transfargarasan as the best, So its time to take a look and find out if he's right..??
The Starting point is Grenoble in the south of France and Grenoble to Romania is going to take 3 days, I've allowed a day to play around on the mountain Highway and then its a 5 day drive back to the U.K. Should be fun...!! although its not all about the mountain highway as the route starts in France, ends in France but takes in 11 other countries on route.
1 France
2 Italy
3 Slovenia
4 Croatia
5 Serbia
6 Bulgaria
7 Romania
8 Hungary
9 Slovakia
10 Czech Republic
11 Germany
12 Belgium and back into France
Link to full route below
Meylan, France to Calais, France - Google Maps
I wanted to include Poland but I don't have enough spare time available to squeeze it in.
As its a nine day hike and I've no rest days I made the decision to stop at real swanky hotels every night for comfort and also to ensure secure parking.
My epic adventure starts this coming Friday afternoon when I set off through France heading for the Italian border. Its then motorway to Alessandria and down to Venice for my first overnight stop. the hotel is outside Venice at Quarto d'Altino just off the motorway so nice and easy.
Route for Friday.
Meylan, France to Crowne Plaza Hotel Venice East-Quarto D'Altino - Google Maps
Hotel for Friday Night.
Booking.com: hotel Crowne Plaza Venice East, Quarto d?Altino, Italy - 81 Guest reviews. Book your hotel now!
On the Saturday I hope to cover 4 countries in the one day. I will continue east across northern Italy to the Slovenian Border, through Slovenia via Ljubana and Nova Mesto then on to Croatia. Over the border and on to Zagreb then right across Croatia and into Serbia.
Once in Serbia I will head for Belgrade for my overnight stop.
Route for Saturday
Crowne Plaza Hotel Venice East-Quarto D'Altino to Holiday Inn Belgrade - Google Maps
Hotel for Saturday night.
Booking.com: hotel Holiday Inn Belgrade, Beograd, Serbia - 19 Guest reviews. Book your hotel now!
On the Sunday I will continue on across Serbia to Bulgaria, I only cut across the top tip of Bulgaria via a ferry river crossing at Vidin so only have a short way to the Romainian border. Then its straight on to a town called Pitesti for my next overnight stop.
Route for Sunday
Holiday Inn Belgrade to VICTORIA HOTEL PITESTI Hotel - Google Maps
Hotel for Sunday night.
Victoria Hotel, Pitesti, Romania - Home, en
Monday is playtime..! The Transfargarasan highway runs from Pitesti over the Fargaras Mountains, part of the Carpathian mountain range and is about a 1.5 to 2 hour drive. That gives me time to drive the road in both directions and then 1 more time back over the mountains and on to Sibiu for my next overnight stop.
Wikipedia link for the Transfargarasan
Transf?g?r??an - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Images for the Transfargarasan
transfargarasan - Google Search
Route for Monday
Piteşti, Romania to Sibiu, Romania - Google Maps
Hotel for Monday night.
Golden Tulip Ana Tower Sibiu | Golden Tulip Ana Tower Sibiu
Its an early start Tuesday morning as I have a 7.5 hour drive to Hungary and Budapest airport where the wife (believe it or not) is flying in to join me for the rest of the trip. So got to be at the airport by 3:00pm for when she lands. (I also cross a timezone so should gain an hour giving me more time) then its onto to Budapest city centre for our overnight stop right on the river Danube.
Route for Tuesday.
Golden Tulip to Budapest Ferihegy International Airport - Google Maps
Hotel for Tuesday night.
InterContinental Budapest
From here on, as I will have the wife with me the trip will take on a more leisurely pace with a bit more sight seeing and stopping for lunch here and there etc etc.
So Wednesday is roughly a 6 hour drive and in the morning we head for the Slovakian border and on to Bratislava, from there we head for the Czech border and on to Brno where we will stop for lunch.
From Brno we head straight to Prague for our overnight stop in the city centre.
Route for Wednesday.
Budapest, Hungary to InterContinental Prague - Google Maps
Hotel for Wednesday night.
PRAGUE Hotels - InterContinental Hotels & Resorts PRAGUE Hotel in PRAGUE | Book Direct for Best Rates
On Thursday we head for the German border and an easy 4 hour drive to Frankfurt for our next overnight stop in Frankfurt city centre. So it will probably be 2 hours drive, stop for lunch somewhere on route and a look about, then another 2 hours to Frankfurt.
Route for Thursday
Prague, Czech Republic to Frankfurt, Germany - Google Maps
Hotel for Thursday Night
FRANKFURT Hotels - InterContinental Hotels & Resorts FRANKFURT Hotel in FRANKFURT | Book Direct for Best Rates[DEU]-_-Exact-_-intercontinental%20frankfurt&siclientid=1937
Friday it's off to Belguim and on to Brussels for our last overnight stop in the city centre.
The route is roughly another 4 hour drive from Frankfurt to Brussels with another lunch stop off along the way.
Route for Friday
Frankfurt, Germany to City of Brussels, Belgium - Google Maps
Hotel for Friday night.
Crowne Plaza Brussels – Le Palace | Hotel Brussels City Centre
Saturday is an easy drive of 2 hours to Calais for the Ferry so will probably kill a couple of hours in Brussels before heading for the boat. Once back in good ole Blighty we only live about half hour from the Dover port so no U.K. traffic worries there.
I will get as many pics as possible and will try and update the thread on route with snippets if possible then do a bit of a review after.
Except I'm gonna do it the "LONG WAY ROUND"....!
12 countries, 9 Days, 6 currencies, 2 time zones, 1 Idiot..!
With some top driving roads, and some fairly bad roads too.
I estimate the route at 4600kms or just over 3000 miles but will probably be more. Don't ask what the estimated petrol bill is going to be as it brings tears to my eyes...! the road tolls and Vignettes will not be cheap either.
Now I know you guys will be disapointed I'm not doing it in a Zed of some description, but trust me if I still had my Zed I would be doing this run in it. I suspect I will return to the Nissan fold at some point in the future but I think it would have to be with a GTR rather than a zed.
So the Focal point of the route is the Transfargarasan mountain highway in Romania, It was declared by the Top Gear team as the best driving road in the world..! Clarkson owned up to the fact that he got it wrong when he announced that the Stelvio Pass in Italy was the best driving road in the world (and trust me, it ain't the best by far) and declared the Transfargarasan as the best, So its time to take a look and find out if he's right..??
The Starting point is Grenoble in the south of France and Grenoble to Romania is going to take 3 days, I've allowed a day to play around on the mountain Highway and then its a 5 day drive back to the U.K. Should be fun...!! although its not all about the mountain highway as the route starts in France, ends in France but takes in 11 other countries on route.
1 France
2 Italy
3 Slovenia
4 Croatia
5 Serbia
6 Bulgaria
7 Romania
8 Hungary
9 Slovakia
10 Czech Republic
11 Germany
12 Belgium and back into France
Link to full route below
Meylan, France to Calais, France - Google Maps
I wanted to include Poland but I don't have enough spare time available to squeeze it in.
As its a nine day hike and I've no rest days I made the decision to stop at real swanky hotels every night for comfort and also to ensure secure parking.
My epic adventure starts this coming Friday afternoon when I set off through France heading for the Italian border. Its then motorway to Alessandria and down to Venice for my first overnight stop. the hotel is outside Venice at Quarto d'Altino just off the motorway so nice and easy.
Route for Friday.
Meylan, France to Crowne Plaza Hotel Venice East-Quarto D'Altino - Google Maps
Hotel for Friday Night.
Booking.com: hotel Crowne Plaza Venice East, Quarto d?Altino, Italy - 81 Guest reviews. Book your hotel now!
On the Saturday I hope to cover 4 countries in the one day. I will continue east across northern Italy to the Slovenian Border, through Slovenia via Ljubana and Nova Mesto then on to Croatia. Over the border and on to Zagreb then right across Croatia and into Serbia.
Once in Serbia I will head for Belgrade for my overnight stop.
Route for Saturday
Crowne Plaza Hotel Venice East-Quarto D'Altino to Holiday Inn Belgrade - Google Maps
Hotel for Saturday night.
Booking.com: hotel Holiday Inn Belgrade, Beograd, Serbia - 19 Guest reviews. Book your hotel now!
On the Sunday I will continue on across Serbia to Bulgaria, I only cut across the top tip of Bulgaria via a ferry river crossing at Vidin so only have a short way to the Romainian border. Then its straight on to a town called Pitesti for my next overnight stop.
Route for Sunday
Holiday Inn Belgrade to VICTORIA HOTEL PITESTI Hotel - Google Maps
Hotel for Sunday night.
Victoria Hotel, Pitesti, Romania - Home, en
Monday is playtime..! The Transfargarasan highway runs from Pitesti over the Fargaras Mountains, part of the Carpathian mountain range and is about a 1.5 to 2 hour drive. That gives me time to drive the road in both directions and then 1 more time back over the mountains and on to Sibiu for my next overnight stop.
Wikipedia link for the Transfargarasan
Transf?g?r??an - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Images for the Transfargarasan
transfargarasan - Google Search
Route for Monday
Piteşti, Romania to Sibiu, Romania - Google Maps
Hotel for Monday night.
Golden Tulip Ana Tower Sibiu | Golden Tulip Ana Tower Sibiu
Its an early start Tuesday morning as I have a 7.5 hour drive to Hungary and Budapest airport where the wife (believe it or not) is flying in to join me for the rest of the trip. So got to be at the airport by 3:00pm for when she lands. (I also cross a timezone so should gain an hour giving me more time) then its onto to Budapest city centre for our overnight stop right on the river Danube.
Route for Tuesday.
Golden Tulip to Budapest Ferihegy International Airport - Google Maps
Hotel for Tuesday night.
InterContinental Budapest
From here on, as I will have the wife with me the trip will take on a more leisurely pace with a bit more sight seeing and stopping for lunch here and there etc etc.
So Wednesday is roughly a 6 hour drive and in the morning we head for the Slovakian border and on to Bratislava, from there we head for the Czech border and on to Brno where we will stop for lunch.
From Brno we head straight to Prague for our overnight stop in the city centre.
Route for Wednesday.
Budapest, Hungary to InterContinental Prague - Google Maps
Hotel for Wednesday night.
PRAGUE Hotels - InterContinental Hotels & Resorts PRAGUE Hotel in PRAGUE | Book Direct for Best Rates
On Thursday we head for the German border and an easy 4 hour drive to Frankfurt for our next overnight stop in Frankfurt city centre. So it will probably be 2 hours drive, stop for lunch somewhere on route and a look about, then another 2 hours to Frankfurt.
Route for Thursday
Prague, Czech Republic to Frankfurt, Germany - Google Maps
Hotel for Thursday Night
FRANKFURT Hotels - InterContinental Hotels & Resorts FRANKFURT Hotel in FRANKFURT | Book Direct for Best Rates[DEU]-_-Exact-_-intercontinental%20frankfurt&siclientid=1937
Friday it's off to Belguim and on to Brussels for our last overnight stop in the city centre.
The route is roughly another 4 hour drive from Frankfurt to Brussels with another lunch stop off along the way.
Route for Friday
Frankfurt, Germany to City of Brussels, Belgium - Google Maps
Hotel for Friday night.
Crowne Plaza Brussels – Le Palace | Hotel Brussels City Centre
Saturday is an easy drive of 2 hours to Calais for the Ferry so will probably kill a couple of hours in Brussels before heading for the boat. Once back in good ole Blighty we only live about half hour from the Dover port so no U.K. traffic worries there.
I will get as many pics as possible and will try and update the thread on route with snippets if possible then do a bit of a review after.
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